MORDANT MONDAY: Mordant Making Linen Stiff

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected]. Today we look at linen! YOU ASKED: I am wondering why mordanting with alum might change the feel of the fabric? I dye linen a lot and I haven’t been able to figure out why this happens and how to restore it to its original softness! KATHY ANSWERED: If your fabric is feeling stiff after mordanting, you may be able to restore softness through a gentle tumble in a clothes dryer. If this doesn’t solve the problem, evaluate how … Read more

MORDANT MONDAY: Do I Need To Mordant When Using Liquid Tannin?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I am using your liquid tannin on cotton.Β Beyond scouring, I wasΒ wondering if it is sufficient to use liquid tannin (on cotton t-shirts) as a mordant before using the other liquid dyes? Or, do I need to mordant cottons at all when using these liquids?Β Do I need to alum them as well? I have aluminum triformate currently so was thinking to use this.Β  KATHY ANSWERED: I hope I’m answering your question here. If you want to use Liquid … Read more

Mordant Monday

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] our Mordant Mondays weekly here.

Shades of Color History, From Egypt to Nantucket

This is one of the greatest color wheels we have ever seen! Lapham’s Quarterly looked at “natural” dyes and color from Egyptian Galena in 1900 BC to Nantucket Red in 1950! Fascinating and a must read. Click over to the article here. Image: Lapham’s Quarterly

MORDANT MONDAY: Aluminum Acetate + Calcium Carbonate Before Dyeing?

We get mordant questions all the time at Botanical Colors so why not create Mordant Monday??? Got mordanting questions? Email [email protected] YOU ASKED: I’m confused. Your directions for mordanting with aluminum acetate say to mordant, place fibers in dye pot, then . . . do the calcium carbonate bath then dye – what is the correct order? “Remove, rinse lightly and proceed to dyeing. Calcium carbonate can shift dye colors due to its higher pH, so we like to rinse it prior to use.” KATHY ANSWERED: You mordant with aluminum acetate, and when it is done, remove from the aluminum … Read more

Earth Day With Green Eileen!

We had a blast with the Green Eileen team on Earth Day at the Green Eileen shop in Seattle. The store hosted a cocktail party and featured gently worn EILEEN FISHER clothing for sale overdyed with Botanical Colors dyes. Indigo, pomegranate and madder were just a few of the colors used. Check out the party pictures below! Β 

Feedback Friday

FEEDBACK FRIDAY is a bi-weekly show featuring Botanical Colors’ President Kathy Hattori and Sustainability + Communications Director Amy DuFault. Every week, Kathy and Amy speak with dyers, artists, scientists, writers and scholars about their favorite topic, natural dyeing and color. FEEDBACK FRIDAY is now over 100 episodes strong and went live in May 2020, two months into the pandemic lockdown. Both Kathy and Amy realized there was a need to gather community in a creative space with artists worldwide scared, lonely, quarantined and unable to take a class or workshop for inspiration. The result has been overwhelming with over 10,000 … Read more

The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer’s Field Guide

Product note: this book is on order and should arrive in the next week, approx. November 8-10. Thank you for your patience! The Rainbow Beneath My Feet: A Mushroom Dyer’s Field Guide is a comprehensive book first published in 2001. Written by Arleen and Alan Bessette, two knowledgeable mycologists, it is full of useful information and details. The book thoroughly reviews both the anatomy of the mushroom, as well as identification methods, species details and photographs of specimens. The authors present a color key to the types of mushrooms, which is extremely helpful. The mushrooms species are presented in a … Read more